Obtain More Data for GA4

First-Party Marketing with Server-Side Tracking – More Data for GA4

Many Google Analytics users face significant data loss. End this issue with server-side tracking (also known as first-party tracking)—the ultimate solution that seamlessly combines data privacy and effective tracking.

Familiar with the Problem?
Do your Google Analytics reports show missing data, inaccurately tracked conversions, or inexplicably low visitor numbers? These issues are often caused by multiple factors: low consent rates, ad blockers, and browser tracking prevention undermine your data foundation, compromising the accuracy of your reports.

We specialize in both privacy and tracking, combining these areas to deliver a complete data foundation for Google Analytics without compromising compliance.

Why Settle for Less?
Others may improve your tracking but overlook critical privacy requirements. With a privacy-compliant tracking setup, you can even collect more data for Google Analytics—even when users decline your cookie banner.

By implementing server-side tracking according to best practices, we help you maximize your marketing potential, ensuring no valuable data or resources go to waste.

Request a free initial consultation

What is Server-Side Tracking?

Server-side tracking is a web tracking method where tracking data is processed on your own server. This stands in contrast to the widely used client-side tracking, where data is collected and processed directly in the user’s browser (the client) before being transmitted to third-party services like Google Analytics.

With server-side tracking, you retain control over which data is shared with third parties, allowing you to manage data transmission more precisely and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.

Key Takeaway:
Server-side tracking introduces your own server as an intermediary between your website and third parties like Google Analytics. Think of this server as your personal control center for managing and protecting your data.

Server Side Tracking Process
Up to 50% Data Loss with Client-Side Tracking

How Server-Side Tracking Can Complete Your GA4 Data Foundation

You might wonder why server-side tracking is relevant if you’re already collecting customer data and transmitting it to Google Analytics using client-side tracking. The reasons for transitioning to server-side tracking are numerous—let’s explore them in detail:

The Privacy Challenge

Since Google became subject to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), you can only view data in Google Analytics when visitors consent to your cookie banner. With client-side tracking, your data foundation is directly tied to your cookie banner's consent rate. Server-side tracking offers a way to overcome these limitations. By routing data through your own server, you retain full control over your data, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations while reducing reliance on consent rates. This is achieved through the anonymization of personal data, allowing you to maintain a robust and compliant data foundation even when visitors decline cookies.With server-side tracking, you can strike the perfect balance between meeting data protection requirements and gathering actionable insights.

Ad Blockers & Browser Tracking Prevention

With client-side tracking, data is processed directly in the user’s browser, and interactions like page views, clicks, or scroll depths are sent straight to third-party services like Google Analytics. However, ad blockers and browser tracking prevention features often block these scripts, preventing data from being transmitted to Google Analytics. Server-side tracking largely mitigates these limitations by routing data through your own server before forwarding it to third-party services. This approach bypasses many of the obstacles posed by ad blockers and tracking prevention tools, ensuring a more reliable and complete data collection process.

Ad Blockers & Browser Tracking Prevention

Lack of Data Control & Incomplete Data Foundation

With client-side tracking, tracking scripts run directly in the user’s browser, leaving you with limited control over data processing. Data is transmitted to third-party services without any intermediary, restricting your ability to manage or customize the data flow. Server-side tracking puts you back in control. By introducing your own server as an intermediary between your website and third-party services like Google Analytics, you gain the ability to manage, filter, and process data before it is forwarded. This ensures a more complete and reliable data foundation while maintaining full oversight of your data processing.

Advantages of Server-Side Tracking

Reduced Dependence on Third Parties

A major advantage of server-side tracking is the increased control over the data you collect. By processing data on your own server first, you decide which information is shared with third parties and which remains in-house. Additionally, you have the ability to enrich, validate, or clean the data before transmission. This ensures not only a higher level of data quality but also complete oversight of how and what data is shared with external providers. With server-side tracking, you minimize your reliance on third parties while maximizing your control over data processing and compliance.

100% data control
Reduction third-party providers

GDPR-Compliant Tracking

Server-side tracking simplifies compliance with GDPR requirements by processing data on your own server. This setup allows you to anonymize or pseudonymize personal data before sharing it with third-party providers, ensuring that no sensitive information is transmitted unprotected.

By maintaining control over data processing and adhering to strict privacy standards, server-side tracking helps you balance effective analytics with robust data protection.

GDPR-compliant

Avoiding Data Loss Due to Ad Blockers

Another key advantage of server-side tracking is its ability to bypass browser-based tracking restrictions, such as Safari's Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), which aims to block unnecessary tracking and data transmission to third-party providers.

With server-side tracking, data is first sent to your own server instead of directly to third parties. This approach prevents browser tracking prevention tools and ad blockers from interfering with data transmission, ensuring a more reliable and complete dataset.

Optimized SEO for Better Rankings

Client-side tracking requires all tracking scripts to load in the user’s browser, which can significantly slow down your website. In contrast, server-side tracking minimizes the number of scripts executed in the browser by handling most requests on your server.

This results in improved website performance and faster load times—key factors that positively influence your SEO rankings and enhance your visibility in search engine results. By adopting server-side tracking, you not only optimize your tracking but also strengthen your online presence.

Faster loading speed

Complete Data Foundation Through Anonymization

With server-side tracking, you can anonymize or pseudonymize personal data, allowing you to build a comprehensive data foundation even with high cookie banner rejection rates. By removing personal identifiers during anonymization, you ensure compliance with data protection laws like the GDPR, which only apply to data containing personal information.

This approach enables you to track data in a privacy-compliant manner without requiring user consent, providing you with valuable insights while respecting legal and ethical standards.

Up to 100% data
A comparison

Client-Side Tracking vs. Server-Side Tracking

Feature
Client-Side Tracking
Server-Side Tracking
Implementation
Tracking scripts and tags are loaded in the web container directly on the website (in the browser).
Tracking scripts and tags are loaded by the server container on the server side.
Data collection
Data is processed in the browser (client) and sent directly to third-party providers such as Google Analytics.
Data is sent from the browser (client) to its own server, where you can control the forwarding to third-party providers.
Data protection & data security
With client-side tracking, you have no control over your data and which data is forwarded. This restricts data protection.
You have full control over your data. You can control which data is forwarded to which providers. You can also anonymise data and thus better comply with data protection requirements.
Website-Performance
May affect the loading of the website, as tracking scripts are processed in the browser.
Improves the loading speed of your website, as fewer tracking scripts are processed in the browser (client).
Complexity
Less complex to implement, requires little technical expertise.
Implementation more complicated, requires technical expertise.
Costs
Often free of charge.
There are costs for the server.

Who Benefits from Server-Side Tracking?

Choosing between client-side and server-side tracking depends on a company's specific requirements and goals. While both methods have their pros and cons, server-side tracking is particularly advantageous if:

  • Your cookie banner consent rate is low, but you still aim to collect as much comprehensive data as possible.
  • You regularly allocate marketing budgets to Google Ads or other campaigns and want to optimize these investments.
  • A complete data foundation and maximum control over your data are critical for your marketing strategies.
  • Privacy compliance, including adherence to GDPR, is a top priority for your business.
  • You require reliable tracking and need to minimize data loss or disruptions.
  • Performance and SEO improvements are essential to boost your SEO ranking and enhance website loading speed.

When Is a Service Provider Worth Considering for Server-Side Tracking?

Server-side tracking is a technically complex method that requires in-depth expertise, especially when it comes to seamlessly integrating tracking with privacy compliance. Without proper setup, you risk losing valuable data or failing to meet data protection requirements. Collaborating with a service provider can bring significant benefits and mitigate these risks.

Before implementing server-side tracking on your own, consider whether you can confidently answer the following questions with "Yes":

  1. Do you have a technical team with extensive expertise in server-side tracking and tools like Google Tag Manager (GTM)?
  2. Do you have a data protection officer who understands tracking-related issues and can ensure GDPR compliance?
  3. Do you have sufficient cloud and DevOps resources to securely set up and maintain your own server?

Benefit from the Synergy of Tracking and Privacy for Data-Driven Marketing

First Party Marketing mit server side tracking

Pioneers in Server-Side Tracking

We are dedicated to successfully bridging the gap between tracking and privacy, developing innovative solutions that make this possible. Privacy requirements do not signal the end of tracking—when implemented correctly, server-side tracking offers genuine competitive advantages.

Since the early development of alternative tracking methods, we have been utilizing the Server Tag Manager to provide our clients with the best of both worlds: effective tracking and robust privacy compliance.

Datenschutz durch Server Side Tracking

Experts in Privacy & Tracking

Privacy and tracking are our passion. With an in-depth understanding of global data protection laws, we know exactly what it takes to implement effective and compliant tracking solutions.

We have successfully integrated numerous cookie consent and tracking setups into a wide range of technology stacks worldwide, helping our clients achieve significant improvements in their tracking capabilities.

Discover how one of our clients increased their data foundation by 40% in a GDPR-compliant way with our Server-Side Tracking solution. Read their success story here.


 

Google Analytics Experten

Specialists in Google Analytics

The intersection of Google and privacy is a dynamic field that demands constant adaptation. Given Google’s significant market relevance, staying up to date with updates and changes is crucial for optimized tracking. Each modification can directly impact your analytics tracking setup.

That’s why we are deeply committed to monitoring and understanding the latest developments in Google Analytics. Our expertise ensures you achieve a seamless integration of privacy compliance and effective tracking for your business.

Rely on Privacy-Compliant Server Side Tracking for Accurate First-Party Data

As pioneers in server-side tracking, we deliver solutions that seamlessly combine privacy compliance with efficient tracking. Our approach meets global data protection requirements while providing you with a robust data foundation for your marketing strategies. With server-side tracking, you gain first-party data directly from the source—an essential advantage in a future without third-party data.

Trust in our extensive international expertise in tracking and privacy. Together with trusted partners, we implement premium cookie consent and tracking setups across diverse industries. Our clients benefit from consent management platforms (CMPs) with the highest possible opt-in rates and nearly complete datasets.

Leverage server-side tracking to collect up to 50% more valuable data, empowering you to make informed, data-driven decisions rather than relying on assumptions.

First Party Marketing

Benefit from our expertise in Consent & Data Management

400+
Projects
80+
Customers
25+
Sectors
15+
Countries

From Consultation to the Perfect Tracking Setup

Free Initial Consultation

We invite you to a no-obligation initial consultation, where we evaluate the potential of implementing server-side tracking for your business and answer all your questions in detail. Let’s explore how server-side tracking can benefit your data strategy and privacy compliance.

Start with a Status Quo Analysis

In this phase, we assess which software solutions are best suited to your specific business processes. We provide you with detailed insights into the planned project workflow, ensuring a clear and tailored approach to meet your needs.

Implementation

We handle the implementation of your chosen software, ensuring it fully complies with current data protection standards while enabling you to unlock the full potential of your data collection.

Configuration

During this phase, we review and optimize every step of the process chain to ensure flawless software functionality, making adjustments as needed.

Testing & Validation

In this phase, we thoroughly test and validate each step of the process chain to ensure the software functions flawlessly, making necessary adjustments where required.

Wartung

Our commitment doesn’t end with implementation. You can reach out to our team of experts at any time. We are here to address your questions and provide ongoing support until you are completely satisfied.